“If we obey His commandments”

Here's the video link to my sermon

Meditation on 1 John 2

July 13, 2014

***

      Ebenezer tried something new this week—Camp in a Van. Three counselors from Clearwater Forest Presbyterian Camp—Rachel, Martin and Jeremy—arrived last Sunday afternoon in their van packed with almost everything they needed to bring the Christian camp experience to us. And for 5 days, they lived among us, ate with us, laughed with us, and shared our common lot. Martin and Jeremy stayed with Carol and Tim and Rachel stayed with Lawrence and Alice. They led us on adventures, making God’s Word come alive through “Bible Quests,” stories, crafts, songs, and more. The children enjoyed outdoor running games, such as “Steal the Bacon” and they painted “rock friends.” They giggled and got messy and sweaty! No one said they were bored! On Friday, they played water games, and most everyone, including the counselors, got wet.

      My favorite time was worship. They gathered for worship at the beginning and end of each day in a variety of places—the sanctuary, the balcony; the stage in the fellowship hall and, on Friday, in the parking lot. Martin strummed his guitar and Rachel and Jeremy taught the words and motions to the songs. Worship included simple skits, such as on the first day when “Jesus” called Rachel on the phone and said he was coming to her house. And while she was cleaning house, her needy neighbors (all of them played by Martin with different voices) kept knocking on her door—only to be sent away because she was too busy getting ready for Jesus. At the end, Jesus called Rachel on the phone again to tell her that he was actually all of the needy neighbors knocking on her door—and she had sent him away because she was too busy “getting ready” for Him.

       My favorite part of the program was when the counselors and children prayed. The counselors didn’t use quiet, somber voices while the children sat passively, looking sad. The children were smiling and eager to participate in these simple, joyful, conversational prayers of praise and thanksgiving. Some prayers had themes and actions, such as the “body-builder’s prayer.” Children pretended to be lifting weights—and even gave thanks to God for their barbells! I liked that the counselors showed the children that it was OK to be playful when we give thanks for our food, teaching them to sing the Superman, Batman, Jaws, and other graces before they ate their snacks.

     But there were more serious moments, too. One very touching time of prayer was when Jeremy led a “prayer web.” He held onto the end of a ball of pink yarn and tossed it to a child who wanted to add words to the prayer. Then that child hung onto the piece of yarn Jeremy still held and tossed the ball to the next child who wanted to share. Before long, they were tangled in the “prayer web”—connected to one another, Jeremy said, through their relationships with one another and with God. He prayed that our relationships would continue to grow throughout the program—and beyond.

 ***

    In our reading in I John chapter 2 today, we learn how the way we live is connected to our knowledge of God and our relationship with Him. We began our study of I John last Sunday by discussing who the author might be, the date of composition and the audience. Since we can’t know for sure because the original writings did not have author’s name, date or titles, we decided to go along with scholars who say that because of the many similarities in structure, thought, and vocabulary, the author of the gospel of John may also have written 1, 2, and 3 John. This author may have been John, the disciple of Christ, or one of John’s students. Modern scholarship holds that 1, 2, and 3 John may have been written around 100 A.D. (about 10 years after John’s gospel), but not necessarily in the order they appear in the Bible. The original audience may have been a church that met in people’s homes in Ephesus, a coastal city in present day Turkey.

      If it were indeed John, the disciple, who wrote 1, 2 and 3 John, then he would have been an elderly man—at least in his 80s or 90s—when he wrote to his struggling congregation in the aftermath of a conflict that resulted in some people leaving the church. The beginning of chapter 2 supports the view of the author as an aging pastor, who uses affectionate, paternal language. “My little children,” he says, “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.” He uses other endearing terms throughout this chapter, conveying the close relationships he is nurturing with these house-church believers. He uses “little children” again in verses 12 and 28,  “children” in verses 14 and 18, “young people” in verses 13 and 14, and “beloved” in verse 7.

       That John is stirred to write and warn the church about the threat of “antichrists” points to his belief that this conflict has left his flock vulnerable. This is the only place in the NT you will find “antichrist” or “antichrists.” We don’t know to whom John refers when he says, “As you have heard that antichrist is coming,” or why it leads him to believe they are in the “last hour”—or what he really means by that. He may have believed as so many 1^st Century Christians did that Jesus would return within their lifetimes. Although they don’t know the origin of the word, scholars doubt that John invented the term as he uses it without explanation, as if it is in common usage. In verse 19, John writes of the antichrists who deny that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, “They went out from us; they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us.”

      In commentaries on 1 John, the first two verses of chapter 2 are grouped with the end of the first chapter; the chapter divisions added in modern times are not always reliable indicators of the beginnings and endings of a passage. So when John, in I John 2, says, “I am writing these things,” he is very likely summing up and not introducing a new topic. Listen to the reading when the first two verses of chapter 2 are moved to the end of chapter 1.

       Beginning at I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and not for ours only but for the sins of the whole world.”

      The third verse in 1 John 2, then, is a new but related topic—obedience to God. “Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments.”   But what does it mean to know God and what commandments is John talking about?

     The theme of knowing is important to John. He uses the word for knowing (ginoskein) 25 times in 1 John; 56 times in the gospel of John, as in 1:10, “He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.” Ginoskein isn’t just knowing about something; it is “experiential knowledge gained through (our) effort.” [1] So learning about Jesus isn’t the same as “knowing” Christ. “Knowing” means being in relationship with Him.

       In verse 3 we encounter the first of 18 times that John uses the word commandment—entole—in 1, 2 and 3 John; 14 times in 1 John alone. Most of the time it’s singular in 1 John, as in verses 7 and 8 when he refers to the “new” commandment that isn’t really new. He is talking about Jesus’s command to his disciples in John 13:34 before he is betrayed and arrested, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” Jesus’s commandment may also be the greatest commandment of which our Lord spoke. In Matthew 22:25-40, we read, “Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked Jesus a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Here in 1 John, which is in its entirety a call to love because we are God’s “beloved,” we can safely assume that the commandment John speaks of is to love. First John 2:5 says, “but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection.”

      The word translated “obey” (terein) in verse 3 (obey his commandments) also means “keep.” When we keep something, we hold onto it and watch it closely. We keep things that are valuable and we may be fearful of losing them. “Keeping commandments” (plural) doesn’t specifically refer to the Ten Commandments. “Keeping commandments” is an idiom, a figure of speech, which one scholar interprets as “realizing in one’s life what those commandments ask.” [2] Proverbs 19:16 assures us, “The person who keeps the commandments keeps his own soul.” What does the Lord require of us? Like Micah 6:8 in The Message says, “But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously—take God seriously.”

***

     During the days and weeks leading up to Camp in a Van, some people worried we wouldn’t have enough children to have the program. Only a dozen or so kids were registered. And yet, we felt excited at the prospect of sharing Christ with the children in our community in a new way. You see, it doesn’t matter if we have only a few children or many; we are called to be faithful to serve whomever the Lord brings to us and to do whatever form of ministry the Lord calls us to. He will lead us to care for people in need.

     And the Lord was faithful to use us. He brought us 16 to 20 students and the volunteers we needed. Two of the students liked Camp in a Van so much that they are planning to go away for a week this summer to the actual camp in Deerwood, MN. We trusted it was the Lord’s will to host this new program—and we obeyed. We took a leap of faith. We wanted to please the Lord and keep His commandments. To live as God wanted us to live.

        Friends, don’t love the world. Don’t walk in darkness. Trust God, obey God, abide in God. Walk in the truth, walk as He walked, anointed and led by the Spirit. Embrace the promise of new and everlasting life. When the program ended Friday night, we all found it hard to say goodbye to Martin, Jeremy and Rachel. We had truly become connected with them, like Jeremy had requested of the Lord the day the children made a prayer web with pink yarn. We had come to know one another and had grown in love for one another while we sought to know and love God more.

Will you pray with me? 

Holy One, we thank you for the wonderful experiences we shared this week with Camp in a Van. Thank you for Rachel, Martin and Jeremy and for all our faithful volunteers who worked so hard. Thank you, Lord, for the children that you have brought us to nurture and raise up in your loving ways. Grow the seeds of faith that may have taken root in their hearts this week. Thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ, who has made a way for us to be forgiven of all our sins—and enjoy eternal life with You. Guide us in your Will. Lead us to trust and obey. In Christ we pray. Amen.

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[1] Raymond Brown, 252.

[2] Raymond Brown, 252.

“If we confess our sins”

Meditation on I John 1
Here's the video link to the sermon:
https://vimeo.com/100104098

July 6, 2014

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    Some of you may have noticed a little leather-bound book of devotions in our church library—My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. If you haven’t read it, I hope you will!

     Oswald was only 43 when he died in 1917 serving as a YMCA chaplain, ministering to Australian and New Zealand troops in Cairo, Egypt. These troops would later participate in the Battle of Gallipoli. “When he told a group of fellow YMCA workers that he had decided to abandon concerts and movies for Bible classes, they predicted the exodus of soldiers from his facilities. ‘What the skeptics had not considered was Chamber's unusual personal appeal, his gift in speaking, and his genuine concern for the men.’ Soon his wooden-framed “hut” was packed with hundreds of soldiers listening attentively to such messages such as “What Is the Good of Prayer?”[1]

     Oswald was never famous during his lifetime, and yet people who heard him speak or read his writings listened to what he had to say—even if they disagreed. My Utmost for His Highest is widely read today.

     A website that posts his daily devotions says that Oswald, originally from Scotland, was a gifted artist and musician who trained at London’s Royal Academy of Art. But while attending the University of Edinburgh, he agonized before choosing to train for the ministry at Dunoon College in Glasgow instead of using His God given gifts to be an “ambassador for Christ in the world of art and aesthetics.” [2]

      The story of Oswald’s life and writings touched my heart as I agonized a bit over how to begin this sermon series. Throughout his writings, Oswald emphasizes the importance of following God’s Will—being obedient to the Lord—and the importance of prayer and fellowship with Him. This fits perfectly with the message of 1 John, particularly the first chapter we read today. As we begin this study of the Johannine Epistles, let us come with open hearts and minds, seeking to know and follow the Lord’s Will, to be obedient to Him. We come to be strengthened through prayer and stirred to pray more. We come with our desire for a deeper level of fellowship with Christ and His followers.

     We bring to the texts our questions, such as, “Who wrote the 'Epistles of John'—and when? I hope I don’t disappoint you when I tell you that scholars aren’t sure who wrote the “Epistles of John.”  Unlike the apostle Paul, the author of these Epistles never mentions his or her own name. But here are some possibilities. The author could have been the same “John” who wrote John’s gospel. Evidence for this include the many similarities in style, language and message.  Others say the author was not the same John, citing many differences in style, thought and vocabulary. And then, some people believe that different authors wrote each of the three “Epistles of John.”

     For the purpose of this study, let us keep it simple and assume that the same person—John—wrote all three “Epistles of John” and the gospel of John.  Some scholars believe that John’s gospel was written around A.D. 90 and the three Epistles between A.D. 100 and 110. [3] Scholars do not believe that the biblical order of the three Epistles reflects the order in which they were written. The Epistles are arranged longest to shortest, with 2 and 3 John being the shortest books in the entire New Testament. Unfortunately, because they are so short, they have often been overlooked or seen as “insignificant and unimportant.” [4] The Greek vocabulary for 1, 2 and 3 John is only 303 words, while the Greek vocabulary for the whole New Testament is more than 5,000 words. [5]

     Now, let us focus in on 1 John and consider why he might have written it. First, I need to tell you that 1 John is not really an Epistle! It lacks the standard format of a letter that 2 and 3 John have; there’s no greeting or mention of sender and recipient at the beginning and no well wishes, greetings and blessings at the end. Scholars don’t all agree on this, but 1 John could be classified as a sermon or essay. [6]  If the same John who wrote the gospel was indeed the author of 1, 2 and 3 John, he was an older man with “pastoral charge over a number of churches” [7] probably in or near Ephesus, a city along the coast in what is present day Turkey. Travel was difficult in the first century. John probably sent pastoral letters to his churches when he was not able to be there in person. [8]

       The community 1 John addresses has weathered a serious conflict from within that resulted in people leaving the church.  1 John speaks of those who “went out from us,” “false prophets” attempting to deceive, people who are “from the world,” not from God, people who are under the influence of the “spirit of error” and the “spirit of the antichrist.” The author also accuses these people of being “antichrists” themselves. The people leading some of the flock astray are denying that “Jesus is the Christ” and denying that he is the Son of God.

      John, using the pronouns “we” and “us” and not “I” and “me,” shares the reasons for his writing 1 John—for fellowship and joy.  He says in the third verse, “we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.” Sounding much like the writer of John’s gospel, he says in I John 1:4, “We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.”  In the gospel of John 15:11, Christ tells his disciples, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

***

       1 John is important to us, despite its brevity, because it offers the essential beliefs of our faith, the foundation of which IS Jesus Christ. But 1 John isn’t just about belief; it is about how faith shapes our lives and understanding of the world and ourselves. 1 John teaches us that though we are Christians, redeemed by Christ’s blood, we are still sinners! We need our Savior to help us walk in the light and live in humility and submission to God. Hear the echoes of Paul’s teaching in Romans 3:23-25 that begins, “Since all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” when you read 1 John 1:8 and 9: “If we say we haven’t sinned, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. (But) if we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

      1 John contrasts life in submission to God with life not lived in right relationship with Him using the analogy of light and darkness. Hear the similar language that we find in the gospel of John chapter 1: “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” In 1 John 1, life with God is “walking in the light.” Living without submitting to God, without being in right relationship with Him, is “walking in darkness.” In 1 John 5, we read, “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.”

      In verses 6 and 7, we encounter the third and fourth instances that John uses the word “fellowship” in 1 John 1. Repeated words and phrases in the Bible stress their significance. “If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true. But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”   

       We might make the mistake of seeing fellowship as just an optional social time after worship, but fellowship means more than just talking with our Christian friends. To fellowship with God and one another is to nurture intimate, loving relationships.

     Friends, before we close, let us look back on some of what we have learned today—how we should submit to Him and seek to walk always in the light. For God's Word tells us that God IS light. In Him, there is no darkness at all.

     Seek fellowship with God and one another. Fellowship isn’t just talk; it’s nurturing loving relationships.

     And remember, most importantly, 1 John reminds us that Christians, just like everybody else, are sinners! We all need Jesus! Anyone who says they have no sin are deceiving themselves! But if we confess our sins, the Lord who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

       I declare these things to you so that your joy may be complete!

Let us pray.

Holy One, Light of the World, thank you for your Word today and for the new understandings your Spirit has shown us. Thank you for Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, whose blood has redeemed us from sin and death and made us right with You! Lord, sometimes we forget how much we need your salvation and how good it feels to be nourished by your Word and Spirit. We may be tempted to walk as the world walks. Our busyness or our vacations may distract us from prayer and fellowship and gathering for worship and ministry to folks in need. Keep us walking in Your light. Help us to lead lives of humility and submission, nurturing loving relationships with Your children. Grant us compassion for those who walk in the emptiness, loneliness, and hopelessness of darkness. Draw us closer to you. In Christ we pray. Amen.

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     [1] “Oswald Chambers” at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_Chambers on July 5, 2014.

      [2] “Oswald Chambers’ Bio” at http://utmost.org/oswald-chambers-bio/ on July 5, 2014.

     [3] Raymond Brown. The Epistles of John in the Anchor Bible series (Doubleday: Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1982), 101.

      [4] I. Howard Marshall. The Epistles of John  in the New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1978), 2.

      [5] I. Howard Marshall, 2.

      [6] David Rensberger. The Epistles of John (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001), 14.

     [7] I. Howard Marshall, 3.

       [8] I Howard Marshall, 3.

“A Cup of Cold Water”

Here's the video link to this sermon

Pastor Karen Crawford, June 29, 2014 https://vimeo.com/99532661 "Pastor Karen Crawford preaching at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Renville, MN June 29, 2014"

Meditation on Matthew 10:40-11:1

June 29, 2014

***

    ‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’  Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities.

***

    As my son and I stepped off the plane at Detroit airport, grabbed our suitcases from baggage claim, and rode the escalator to ground transportation, volunteers from local churches wearing teal vests met us with smiles. Before leading us to an Indian Trails chartered bus, these members of COLA—the Committee on Local Arrangements—tied colored ribbons around our luggage handles. Each ribbon corresponded with the hotel where we were staying for the 8 days of General Assembly.

    And they said, “Welcome to Detroit.”

    The warm welcome continued throughout our denomination’s biennial gathering. We worshipped and celebrated communion daily with more than a thousand people in the Cobo Convention Center. We enjoyed delicious meals paid for by the Assembly for all voting commissioners, along with our hotel and airfare. The welcome helped us persevere through a challenging, tiring schedule. We stayed up late each night in plenaries or working on committees charged with responding to requests or “overtures” from presbyteries and synods. Each request stirred us to seek the Lord and put our faith into action, interpreting the constitution of the PC (USA).

      Every morning, I got up early, showered and ate breakfast at my hotel before walking the four blocks to the convention center. And every morning, COLA volunteers greeted us at the entrance with smiles and offers of assistance. They said, “Welcome!” and, after the first day, “Welcome back!”  

      In the evenings, after our work was finished, we rode back to our hotels on the People Mover, a monorail that circles the downtown. I walked only a short distance from the closest People Mover stop to my hotel, thinking about the day’s activities and conversations. But in that short walk each night, after I had been welcomed, well-fed, and cared for by my brothers and sisters in the Lord, I passed strangers huddled or sleeping under sleeping bags in doorways of tall, commercial buildings. Throughout the city, many of the ornate but empty, boarded-up buildings revealed the prosperity of the past and the persistent economic problems of the present. I felt sad and wished that I could help the people without homes and proper beds to sleep in. I wanted to show the love of Christ to them. But I didn’t know how I could help them in my situation—without putting myself at risk.

     At the same time, I knew that Christ didn’t worry about his safety when He saw people in need. He gave His all for the sake of a world that did not love Him in return—so that we who are broken and sinful may be healed and forgiven. When He calls us to take up our crosses and follow Him in Matthew 10:38, He is calling the Church to a self-giving ministry of welcoming and caring for others as if we are welcoming and serving Him.

***

     In our gospel reading today, we are nearing the end of Jesus’ instructions to his disciples before sending them out to do His work. Back in Matthew 10:7, Christ says, “as you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.”  He sends His chosen to “towns and villages” not to stand and shout on street corners, but to go to people’s homes and be with them where they live. This is an intimate, relational ministry. And the disciples will have to rely on the Spirit, Jesus says in verse 20, to guide them and speak through them because He won’t be with them this time. After he finishes instructing them, Jesus goes out on his own to teach and proclaim his message.

     To prepare them for their mission, he tells them that whatever town or village they enter, they are to “find out who in it is worthy.”  How does one do this except by relying on the Spirit to lead them?! As they enter a house, they are to “greet it.” The way one greets in Hebrew is to say, “Shalom!” which is more than just “welcome” or “hello.” “Shalom” means “peace, wholeness, completeness.” In greeting with shalom, one offers God’s peace—His loving welcome—a gift we receive by faith. Jesus goes on in verse 13, “If the house is worthy, let your peace (shalom) come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace (shalom) return to you.” The welcome or lack of it is how the disciples will determine if the house is worthy! Jesus is warning His disciples that they won’t always be welcomed! People won’t always want to hear the “good news” of the kingdom—just like they won’t always want to hear the gospel and follow Christ today. In verse 14, Jesus says, “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words,” move on, “shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.”

     Christ warns his disciples of the dangers ahead in verse 16, how they will be persecuted and hated because of him. “See, I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves,” he says, “so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” But they shouldn’t fear. Our loving God, who knows when one sparrow falls to the ground, is still in control. “Even the hairs of your head are all counted,” he says in verse 29. “So do not be afraid; you are of more value than sparrows.”

     In today’s passage, beginning at verse 40, Christ emphasizes the importance of welcoming by using the word “welcome” 6 times in 2 verses! Welcoming connects and reconciles; it brings us into loving relationship. In the act of welcoming, we experience unity with human beings and our God who is Three in One—Father, Spirit and Son. “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me,” Christ says, “and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”

    Christ calls us specifically to welcome “the prophet”—those who proclaim the Word—and the “righteous person” –those who live out their faith. But Christ also speaks of helping people with needs, who may be outside the church. He urges us to give “even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple.” In our service to the “least of these” as Jesus says in Matthew 25:40, we are serving Him. Mother Teresa, in her book, Words to Love By, speaks of encountering Christ in those living in poverty, in those who were “hungry not only for bread, but hungry for love; naked not only for clothing, but naked of human dignity and respect; homeless not only for want of a room of bricks, but homeless because of rejection.” [1]

     When the Lord speaks of giving even a “cup of cold water,” he is encouraging us to be willing to make sacrifices to help others and show hospitality.  Jesus and his disciples lived in a hot, dry climate without the luxuries of indoor plumbing and refrigeration; cold water was difficult to come by! Most people did not have their own wells. “The simple act of giving a cup of cold water” might require “another arduous trip downhill to the village well to draw up more cold water for the household.” [2]   

    Christ makes a promise to the faithful who welcome His children, especially those in need. They will receive the “reward of the righteous.” Whoever gives “even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple,” Christ says, “truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

***

   Reflecting on my experiences at G.A.—the first I have ever attended—I can honestly say that I feel better about the denomination now, though I may not agree with every decision that was made. But that’s part of being a Presbyterian in a Church of 1.8 million people. We won’t always agree! But we will find our unity in Christ, if we seek Him together and seek to be followers of Him. And if we welcome and care for one another as Christ calls us to do.

    Seeing G.A. through the lens of our Matthew scripture about welcoming believers and caring for people in need as if we are caring for the Lord Himself, I think that our denomination’s greatest witness to the love of Jesus Christ may perhaps be found not in the debates or votes on the floor. Our greatest witness may simply be the denomination’s decision to meet in Detroit, a city in desperate need.  In doing so, the Church provided work for countless people and brought hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue to area businesses, including the convention center, airport, hotels, restaurants, shops, gas stations, public transportation, and tourist attractions such as the zoo and museums.

     And I’ll never forget the gentle COLA volunteers, who really made us feel welcome. Nor will I forget the kindness of the workers at the Detroit airport, which had the shortest line through security that I have ever experienced and who didn’t ask to see my I.D. when they checked my bags at the curb. They didn’t even charge me extra for my suitcase that exceeded the weight limit by 6 pounds! The man slapped on the orange “heavy” tag with a smile and said, “Thanks for coming to Detroit! Come back and see us again!”

     And I smiled and answered, “I will!”

Let us pray.

Holy God, our Three in One, thank you for welcoming us into relationship with You through faith in Jesus Christ, your Son. Thank you for your love that never holds back—for always being faithful to your children and meeting our needs. Thank you for being with us in Detroit and leading us by your Spirit to make decisions about our Church and our lives of faith. We ask that you continue to lead our Church to paths of righteousness, keeping us from arguing about things that serve only to distract us from loving and serving you and loving and serving our neighbors. Thank you for calling us to a ministry of welcome and hospitality. Help us to care for one another as if we are caring for you—because we are! Help us to see Christ in the faces of strangers in need. Lead us to more sacrificial acts of lovingkindness to the poor. Give us courage to not just walk by people with great needs, but to stop and help them, to offer them even a cup of cold water. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

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     [1] Mother Teresa, Words to Love By (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 1983), 80.

      [2] Bonnie L. Pattison, “Matthew 10:40-11:1”  in Feasting on the Gospels (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013), 280.